This invention relates to aircraft components, in particular to aircraft ejection seats.
Aircraft ejection seats in modern piloted fighter aircraft must serve a variety of functions within a limited space. In addition to providing physical support for the pilot, the seat must house the ejection seat rocket, recovery parachute, survival kit and other equipment. The seat must be adjustable so as to maintain the pilot within the design eye of the aircraft instruments irrespective of the pilot's stature. The ejector seat headrest must also perform many functions including canopy breaker, harness attachment, head impact attenuator, and headrest panel. Prior art fighter aircraft ejection seats had headrests that were either not adjustable at all or if adjustable did not adjust to correspond to the seat elevation. Accordingly, headrest adjustment was at best cumbersome.